Purr
by Cori Finn
Summary: A tale of a boy and his cat. A really famous cat. One who has messy black fur, and green eyes.
1. Of Outbreak and a Fateful Thought

Purr

By Cori Finn

Rating: G

Pairings: Don't think there will be any yet

Spoilers: Definitely spoilers for the first book

Disclaimer: sigh. It's not mine, 'cause if it was, I'd be rich. And I'm not. However, if you don't recognize something, then it's mine.

Summary: _Draco Malfoy is getting a familiar as a "reward" for receiving his Hogwarts letter. (Not that they didn't think he was going to get one.) A kitten, perhaps, with messy black fur, and green eyes…_

Harry Potter was 5. If he were a normal five-year-old, then he would be safely asleep in his little bed; head full of dreams. Harry Potter wasn't a normal five-year-old though. If he were, then this story wouldn't exist. Right at this moment, Harry Potter had just begun the process of freeing himself from the clutches of the Dursleys, forever. That is, if he could just manage to be completely quiet.

It all had begun that morning, in Number Four, Privet Drive. Harry had awoken to the familiar screech of his Aunt Petunia, right in the middle of a recurring dream of flying motorcycles. Harry had dragged his tired body of his cot and made his way to the kitchen to help prepare breakfast to the best of his abilities. Not, being tall enough yet to reach the stove, Aunt Petunia had delegated the task of preparing anything that didn't need to be cooked. His uncle and cousin, Vernon and Dudley respectively, had made their way into the kitchen shortly after breakfast was ready, leaving Harry to retreat to a corner of the kitchen clutching a half burnt slice of toast. The small boy was forced to watch his family consume their food while he nibbled on his scrap. Harry drifted off while he stood, going back to his dream of flying.

"Boy!" The yell jerked Harry back to the present, as he stared fearfully up at his uncle's red face. "Wash the dishes, you little wretch! And do your chores! That list had better be done by the time I get home!" With that, Uncle Vernon lumbered out the door and off to work. Harry, under the watch of Aunt Petunia, quickly and carefully began to wash the dishes. By the time he was done, his arms were tired from the effort. Judging by the glare his Aunt Petunia was giving him, Harry decided that then would be the perfect time to complete his outdoor chores and hurried to the garden. After a morning spent cutting the grass, weeding the flowerbed, and watering the lawn, Harry scurried inside the house for his meager lunch. He then dedicated his afternoon to vacuuming the living room, mopping the kitchen and changing the linens in the beds upstairs. By the time he was finished, Uncle Vernon was back and had announced the arrival of guests for dinner. Harry was shoved into his cupboard with two slices of bread, a thin piece of sandwich meat and a glass of water for dinner. Vernon's guests seemed to be enjoying themselves, as Harry's evening was filled with talking and laughter. Harry did his best to ignore all that though. He had come to the realization, while he was being rushed through his lunch, that his life was not going to get any better. Sitting there in his cupboard that, despite the overall cleanliness, of the house was infested with spiders, Harry decided to leave. He would wait until Vernon's guests left, until Petunia finished her customary wipe down of the kitchen before bed, (she never let Harry near the dinner dishes when the had company as she always used her best china), and until Dudley snuck down for his pre-midnight snack to make his escape. However he planned to go about it though, the most important thing was for no one to notice he was gone. And so Harry waited.

It seemed to take forever for his family to settle into sleep, but finally, the house was quiet. Harry eased the door of his cupboard open. Thankfully, it hadn't been locked. Harry had been thinking about it and he'd decided that it would be best if he left out the back door. Harry looked back at his home for the last four years and was completely surprised to see a copy of himself lying on his pitiful excuse for a bed. He quickly shrugged it off, reasoning that if he were still there, then no one would know that he wasn't. Harry made his way out the backdoor of Number Four, Privet Drive and shut it firmly behind him. He had no worries now. Except for getting as far away from Surrey as he could. It wouldn't do for people to notice two Harry Potters walking around. _"Meow."_ Harry jerked back to his surroundings. He hadn't even noticed that he was walking by his babysitter's house and had almost walked into one of Mrs. Figg's cats. Making his way to the park to spend the night, Harry's thoughts were on how to make himself look different. As he settled down behind some bushes, fatigue caught up to him and his mind wandered. The last thought Harry had before drifting off was the sheer number of cats Mrs. Figg from down the street seemed to have.

A/N: Hi, I'm Cori. This is my first fic and is really only an idea. I would appreciate if you could help me out with some pointers. Also, if someone could help me out with this thing, I'm getting a headache as I'm pretty sure that I just deleted my story by accident. I'm sorry if I did because then I lost some reviews that were very helpful. So, this chapter is dedicated to my first five reviewers. Thank you for your help.


	2. Of Words and a Fuzzy Head

_Sorry this took so long, I'll try to do better with the next chapter. I've already started writing it. This chapter is dedicated to Shadow DarknessDragon, BrattyWitch, and demonfaerie15._

Of Words and a Fuzzy Head

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But eleven-year-old Draco Malfoy didn't care. He could'nt wait until breakfast was over so that the post would come. Draco was waiting for a very important letter. His Hogwarts letter was due to arrive that day. It was never a question if he would get the letter, ever since he performed his first bout of accidental magic when he was four. But until recently, there had been a question on whether Draco would attend Hogwarts at all. Lucius, Draco's father wanted him to go to Durmstrang, a school in Bulgaria. However, Narcissa, Draco's mother, wanted him closer to home. So, the decision was made and Draco was going to Hogwarts. As soon as the letter got there.

Narcissa Malfoy didn't seem to be a very loving mother in public, but in truth, she really did love her son. She loved everything about Draco. She loved how adorable he looked whenever he tried to be just like his father, and how he used to strut around like he was on display. And now, her little baby was going away. Narcissa smiled to herself as she watched Draco at breakfast. His impatience was clearly shown on his face, which was rare for him lately. She decided to put him out his misery.

"Draco dear, since you're finished with breakfast you may be excused." Draco barely refrained from grinning as he rose and took controlled steps out of the dining room. Once he was out of his parents' view, he took of running to his rooms, to await the coming owl.

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It had been nearly a week since Draco got his letter and now he was eager to go to Diagon Alley. It was where he was going to get his school supplies. Like the day he got his letter, Draco woke very early and was ready before his wake up call. He did however refrain from running to his parents' rooms and wake them up so that they could get there faster. It wasn't as if he'd never been there before though, Draco had gone to Diagon Alley plenty of times. But this one was different. Today he was going shopping for _him_, and it wasn't for clothes. He was even going to get his own wand that he could use whenever he wanted, thanks to the extensive wards at the Malfoy Manor. Draco had been practicing magic for a while, now he could actually use it properly. No more practice wands for Draco Malfoy.

After breakfast, Draco and his parents flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, a pub that guarded the entrance to Diagon Alley. Barely sparing a glance at the bartender, they proceeded to the alley in back of the pub. Draco watched avidly as Lucius gracefully tapped the required bricks to gain enteance to the magical shopping center. He could hardly contain the look of delight at the sight. The first place they went was to Gringotts bank, a large white stone building. Draco had been there many times before, usually with his father on business, but now they were going to Draco's personal vault. That was where they would get the money needed for his school supplies. Draco enjoyed the ride down to his vault, and liked the sight of all the galleons in there, but he became impatient to start shopping. The first place they went was Flourish and Blott's, to get his textbooks. They quickly went through the alley collect his supplies. Lucius and Narcissa dropped Draco off at Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions while they went elsewhere. Afterwards they would get his wand.

Draco was impatient. He wanted to get his wand already. But he had to wait until he was done getting fitted. He never knew getting clothes, even for Hogwarts, could be so boring. He sincerely wished someone would walk into the store, so he could have company and conversation. No one came. When he was finished, Draco stepped out of the store. He had finished early and had sometime before his parents would pick him up. Draco wandered over to the Magical Menagerie. Maybe he could find a familiar while he waited. The shop was poorly lit. There were cages lining the walls and more in the middle forming aisles. Draco wandered around. He wasn't sure what he wanted. Maybe he could get an owl, or a raven. Ravens were better, but they weren't allowed. What had the letter said? Draco pulled the supplies list out of his pocket. It clearly stated at the bottom, an owl _or_ a cat _or_ a toad. Draco didn't want an owl, there were plenty at the manor, and he definitely didn't want a toad. A cat it was then. Draco walked over to the cats. They were closer to the front of the store. There were all sorts of cats there. Large ones, smaller ones, stripped cats, spotted cats. None of them were right though. Suddenly a shadow seen from the corner of his eye caught his attention. There, in a cage tucked in the corner that previously looked empty, was the smallest, blackest cat Draco had ever seen. Draco walked over to it's cage and stared down at it. It appeared to be sleeping but when Draco stood in front of it's cage it sleepily blinked open its eyes. Draco couldn't hold back a gasp. That cat had the greenest eyes Draco had ever seen.

"Young man, can I help you?" A voice behind caused Draco to turn. The shopkeeper was standing behind him. "Yes," Draco replied, "I would like this one. What kind of cat is it?" "I'm afraid I don't know. He was brought in a long time ago. He looked normal then, but hasn't changed one bit in all the time he's been here." "How long has he been here?" Draco asked quietly while looking down at the cat. He was wide awake and seemed to be following the conversation. "Why, I think it's been six years already. Do you still want him?" The shopkeeper asked. Draco looked at the cat. He couldn't imagine being stuck in the same place for so long. "Yes, I'll take him."

Moments later, Draco walked out of Magical Menagerie with the cat in his arms,and its supplies in his pocket. "What shall I name you?" Draco asked his new cat. The cat only meowed and purred, rubbing its head on his hand. "I'm sure I'll figure something out."

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_Life was dull. He hadn't left his area for six long years. The bright points of his years was the month of August. That was when the students came. Thre would always be someone looking for something in August. However, the month was only 31 days long. At the end of that, the students would be gone again, and his days would blur together. That day, he was excited. He couldn't wait for tomorrow. Today was the last in July. August would start tomorrow, and the students would come. He couldn't wait. He sat there, quite comfortable, and daydreamed about all the people he would see. He was so lost in his daydream that he didn't notice the boy until he was standing in front of him, blocking the sunlight. He looked up blinking slowly, and was startled into awareness at the boy standing in front of him. Somehow, he knew, this was the one he was waiting for._


	3. Of Names and a Sorting

_Cori Finn here. I finally finished chapter three. I hope you all like it. This one is dedicated to Never Odd Or even, neosildrake, demonfaerie15, wicket willow and Eyeinthesky._

Of Names and A Sorting

Draco had never had a pet before. He soon found it to be a great deal of responsibility. Luckily for Draco, he had a very well behaved cat. So well behaved in fact, one could almost forget that it was there. It took Draco a long time to come up with a name for his new pet. It was only after he stopped looking did he find the perfect name, Nightshade. It just fit the little black cat perfectly. So, after a small ceremony declaring the cat the newest member of the family, Nightshade Malfoy was born.

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Nightshade stretched. Never before had he slept in a bed so fine. The bed also just happened to belong to a certain blonde eleven year old, but Nightshade didn't care. Even though his owner had provided him with his own bed, he preferred curling up with the boy. And, if his hugging him lightly as he slept meant anything, then his owner didn't mind any either. Nightshade jumped down off the bed and padded out into the hall. One thing that he had learned the hard way in his new home was that it was remarkably easy for a little cat to get lost. He meowed experimentally. When no one came to his rescue, Nightshade took a few steps down the hall and meowed again. No one came. He began to grow irritated. He was hungry and he wanted food. Someone had better come and feed him, the sooner the better.

_Harry hadn't been a cat for long. He'd woken up the morning after he'd made his escape and immediately known something was different. It wasn't until he fell over as soon as he stood that he realized that he had four legs instead of two. An odd feeling behind him drew his attention to his brand new tail, and feeling them twitch made him realize his newly pointed ears. Harry, as far as he could tell, was a cat. It had taken him all day in the park to come to terms with his new cat-hood. He had practiced walking, pouncing and even climbed a couple of trees, chasing squirrels. It wasn't long, however, until his stomach made him realize that he hadn't eaten since the day before. He was starving. Harry's new nose led him to a vendor on the outskirts of the park. Whatever it was that he was selling, Harry wanted some. He mewed plaintively up at the vendor, and was ignored. "Oh mummy! Look at the poor kitty! He's hungry. Mummy, can I keep him please? I'll take care of him, I promise!" Harry looked up at the high pitched voice. It came from a little girl a short distance away, standing with her mother. Harry's stomach decided that it would be best if he went with the pair. "Penny, we can't keep him you know that." Harry walked closer. The little girl, Penny picked him up. "But mummy, look at his face. How could anyone say no?" "Penny dear, your father is allergic. _No._" Penny's mother took Harry and set him on the ground and started to walk away. Besides, I thought you wanted an owl." Harry looked at the two in despair. They couldn't leave him here. The girl was supposed to feed him! He had to stop them from getting away! Suddenly, Harry found himself in front of Penny and her mother. Penny's mother gasped in alarm. "That is not a muggle cat! We can't leave him here!" Penny squealed. "Can I keep him then mummy?" "No, I'll take him to Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley later today. They'll know what to do with him. Though I suppose we could feed him first." "Don't worry kitty," Penny said, "They'll take good care of you there. In fact, you're so cute somebody will probably snatch you right up and take you home with them. You'll see." Harry drifted to sleep with thoughts of being warm, full and wanted running through his mind._

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Draco had spent the last of his summer acquainting himself with his new companion. After naming the cat, he proceeded to have his name engraved on the silver tag of the collar he'd bought. With its green color and its silver tag and lining, it suited Nightshade perfectly. The two spent their days wandering around Malfoy Manor, with Draco pointing out anything of interest, and their evenings going through Draco's school books. Draco read aloud to his cat in order to help himself remember the material better. He could help but notice though, that Nightshade seemed to understand what he was saying. "Tomorrow," Draco said one such evening, "We're going to Hogwarts." Nightshade meowed in question. "You know Hogwarts. It's the school I've been telling you about. It's where we're going." Draco smiled. "Father tells me it's purely magical. I think we're going to love it." As Draco prepared for bed, he thought about the conversation he had with his parents nearly a month ago.

_"Draco dear, you bought a cat?" "I merely acquired my familiar mother." "Are you positive Draco?" "Yes. Besides father, this cat is special. Extremely magical even." "It has to be, to be your familiar." "The shopkeeper told me that he hasn't grown at all since he got it." "And when was this?" "Six years ago father."_

"Don't worry Nightshade," Draco said to the cat. "You're staying with me. I made sure of it." Nightshade purred in contentment as they fell asleep.

The next day found them on a bright red train, ready to go to Hogwarts. They were sitting in a compartment with a blond girl in it. The door slid open and a boy walked in. "I didn't know you had a cat Draco," the newcomer said as he sat down. Nightshade, from Draco's previous descriptions of his friends, was able to identify him as Blaise Zabini. "Yeah Dray, how come you never told us?" This came from the blond girl seated next to Draco, Pansy Parkinson. "I've only had him for a month," Draco said quietly, "His name is Nightshade." "Nightshade?" Blaise asked, surprised. "Where'd you get that from?" "Well," Draco said calmly, "Nightshade named himself." "And how did he do that?" "I'd been in our Potions lab getting some practice in the clumsy cat managed to knock over an entire jar full of the stuff. It fit." "Well," Pansy said, holding the small cat up, "It does suit you well." Nightshade meowed at her sternly and wriggled out of her grasp. He then proceeded to leap across the compartment into Blaise's lap and glare at her darkly. "I don't think he appreciates your handling, Pansy." Draco and Blaise couldn't help but laugh.

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"This is the year that Harry Potter is supposed to start Hogwarts. He should be on the train right now." Blaise looked up from the currently sleeping Nightshade. "Did you want to go look for him, Draco?" "I think we should," Pansy put in, "Before he ends up around the wrong sort of wizards." "Then let's go." Draco said decidedly. "But leave Nightshade here. Let him sleep."

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When Nightshade awoke, it was dark and he was curled up on his owners lap. Draco looked down, having felt him stretch. "We'll be there soon." Nightshade yawned and looked around. Blaise and Pansy were asleep, but they jerked awake when the train stopped. "Are we here?" Blaise murmured. "Looks like it," Pansy replied. "We better get going then."

The three students stood, with Nightshade in Draco's arms and made their way off of the train. Nightshade mewed a question. "No," Draco replied, "The house elves will bring to where they need to go after we're sorted." "First years! This way, follow me!" A very large man called from down the platform. Nightshade stared in awe. He was huge! The man easily towered over the students, and made Nightshade feel small and insignificant. "Who is he?" Pansy asked. "Groundskeeper, I think," Blaise answered. Draco said nothing. The man led them down a path. "Watch your step. You'll get a good view of Hogwarts when round the bend." Nightshade meowed in surprise. The castle was so brightly lit; it looked like it was glowing. "Alright, four to a boat." They had arrived on the shore of a lake, where a small fleet of small boats were waiting. Blaise, Pansy and Draco climbed into a boat. They were approached by a shy looking boy searching for a seat. "We've got four," Draco snapped as he placed Nightshade on a seat. Startled, the boy hurried to another boat. "Draco, that was mean," Pansy said. "I know," Draco smirked. Blaise could only laugh as the boats moved forward at their guide's command. "We're all going into Slytherin, right?" Pansy clarified. "Of course we are," Blaise replied. "I mean really, could Draco here go anywhere else?" "Of course not," Draco replied smartly. "Every Malfoy is a Slytherin."

Nightshade edged away from the side of the boat and closer to Draco's warmth. The water looked cold. He was contemplating burrowing into Draco's cloak when the boat stopped and he was picked up. Ignoring a small commotion about a toad, Nightshade snuggled deeper into Draco's arms. The door was opened and they were led into a chamber by a stern looking woman. There was another commotion, this one much louder, but Nightshade didn't care. He was comfortable thank you very much, and wasn't about to move. When they finally started moving again, He took a moment to look around, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling, or lack thereof. Draco followed his cat's gaze and smiled. "Don't worry Nightshade," he said. "It's enchanted to look like the sky above us. Father told me."

Nightshade looked around the room. There were more people here than he was used to seeing. They were seated at five long tables, one at the front and the rest perpendicular to it. The one at the front had the least amount of people, and they were all adults. The other four were full of younger people, students. They must be the House tables. All the students began to clap, and Nightshade's attention was drawn to the front of the room. The woman from before was holding a long scroll and was standing next to a stool with a hat on it. The woman began to go down a list of names. Each time, a student went forward, put on the hat, and then went to a different table. This was the sorting. "Malfoy, Draco." At his name, Draco walked forward. He sat gracefully on the stool and the hat was placed on his head. It barely had time to settle before it yelled, quite loudly, "SLYTHERIN!" Nightshade yelped in surprise and fell to the floor. The commotion knocked over the stool that the hat had been placed on and the large hat fell on him.

_"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"_ Nightshade yowled in surprise. _"I've never sorted a cat before."_ The voice was coming from the hat. _"But you aren't an ordinary cat are you Nightshade?"_ Nightshade was insulted. Of course he wasn't! _"No worry, though. I'm sure you'll remember soon enough. I'd better sort you though. You're perfect for... _SLYTHERIN!" The hat was lifted off of him and he was snatched into Draco's arms. Draco carried him over to a table that was predominately green. "I knew you were something special, Nightshade. It is true though, _every_ Malfoy is a Slytherin."

A/N: I appreciate all the help and advice I get. Please review!


	4. Not a chapter, but an ending

Purr is now going on a hiatus. I don't know if I'll ever be able to continue this story. I had some ideas, but I've hit such a large writer's block that I think keeping the story up will just be a waste. However, if anyone wants to continue this story, or even change it I wouldn't mind. Just tell me so I can read it. Thanks to my reviewers, and my readers. Farewell, from Cori.


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